TWO

The airport buzzed with life. The shouts and talks of the moving crowd reached Pip's ears. The footsteps echoing in her surroundings formed her heartbeat. Being in a situation she hadn't experienced in a long while? A shiver ran down her spine. It was overwhelming, both physically and emotionally.

Her body was frozen for a moment. Her eyes followed the group of people till they couldn't. When she snapped back into her body, she realised she had been clutching too hard on the handle of her suitcase. Her knuckles were white from the impact. She retrieved her hand from the handle, shaking it slightly to remove the numb feeling.

Her feet moved fast, moving through the crowd and bumping accidentally to them. She had a set goal: to talk to Ravi. Her mind was working like a robot, skimming through the procedures and rushing to the lounge in swift movements once she was done.

As Pip felt herself sitting back on one of the seats in the lounge area, a sigh of relief escaped her lips, mixing into the atmosphere. Travelling was always tough, having to go through the booking process (not to mention how expensive that was on its own), packing, waiting, re-checking if you had really had your seats confirmed and then going through the security too. But as long as she was going to reach Ravi, it didn't matter. She had been away from him for so long now, she wouldn't let herself miss any opportunity to just be close with him.

Her hand travelled to her rucksack that she had with herself, carried by the straps which were holding on to her shoulders. She took it off and unzipped it on her lap. The contents revealing themselves as the zips separated. A book about crime fiction, a few period items (because periods were like sneaky little ghosts who could give you a horrific jump scare anytime and she didn't want to find herself in blood-stained pants), stationery for annotation, a notebook, a pair of earplugs and at last her phone--the only way of communicating with Ravi... for now. She knew she would be in his arms soon, the heat warmth of his body radiating off to hers. The mere thought of it made her heart flutter. She would melt into mush once she really gets put into that situation and she would make sure to embrace it with open arms.

Pip was scrolling through their messages which made her cheeks flush slightly. Her fingers scrolled above till they reached that message. The one she received three minutes after the verdict. After she had won and Max Hastings, the rapist, was put to his place. The message Ravi had sent her. "Hey Sarge, remember me?" That same message had made her heart beat a little faster. She had replied: "How could I ever forget you?" And now, as she sat here, her fingers hovering over the exchange, she was brought back to the moment of freedom and justice that she held onto so dearly.

As she was floating away into these thoughts, her phone buzzed in her hands, bringing her back to her senses. Ravi texted her. "Trouble, where are the flight details? Send them to me ASAP."

She started typing a response, but ended up deleting it. Instead, she sent him the flight details and immediately clicked on the call button.

He picked up on the second ring.

"Happy now? You got the flight details." She said.

"Yup, you did well by sending them to me. Otherwise, I would have ignored your texts till you reached the ball." He replied.

"Well, I decided on my outfit for the ball. I've bought the silver gown and I'll pair it with...let's see, A rope neckpiece, silver bracelets, silver tassel earring and a pair of high heels. There you have it. You can buy your own clothes too now. Do it quickly though."

Pip gave him this information thinking its just normal talk, but in reality, Ravi was stunned. He could just imagine her in wearing those clothes, walking down a flight of stairs with a pleasant smile plastered on her face. But he suppressed these thoughts and replied. "Alright, thanks."

In that instant, Pip realized what he was thinking. Embarrassed, she quickly changed the subject.

"How are your parents?" She asked.

"They're doing well, busy in preparation to leave for London. Did you hear from Connor? He isn't replying to my messages." He answered.

In the last two months, ever since Pip had been travelling, Ravi and Connor's friendship grew stronger. They'd become really close. So close, in fact, that Pip wondered whether she was childhood friends with Connor or Ravi was.

"Yeah, I heard from him earlier today. Should I tell him to message you?"

"Oh, please do. I need someone to hand out with before we leave for London tomorrow."

"Mhm, roger that."

"Sarge, why didn't you tell me that Connor likes cookie dough ice cream? You won't believe what happened yesterday." He said, enthusiastically.

"Ravi-"

"We met up for some ice cream and-"

"Ravi."

"Yeah? Yeah, what happened?" He asked.

"Boarding started. I've got to go. Sorry. I'll talk to you once I'm in London. I love you." She continued, gently.

"It's alright. Stay safe. I love you too."

The call ended and Pip quickly gathered her things, rushing to the boarding gate, her mind slowly processing back to now. Seeing the boarding like, Pip's face fell slightly. It was a flight to London. Of course the line would be long. "Fuck." She cursed under her breath. Her hands reached for her passport, taking it out of her bag's front pocket before she walked and took a place at the end of the line. This would take long.

Pip could finally relax in the comfort of her seat. The boarding had taken about an hour and her wrist-watch displayed the time as 6:00 p.m. The flight would take around ten hours to reach London from Vegas.

She took out her book, one thing to keep her from getting bored. Yes, she was tired but it wasn't time to sleep just yet. And the plane wouldn't take off for another 20 minutes. She flipped through the pages, her hands caressing the edges as, and she found herself engrossed with the words. Her eyes chased behind them and she was too involved to realise the time anymore.